


What picking cherries will get you

by nofeartina



Series: Fic posts archived from tumblr [10]
Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, archiving from nofeartina tumblr-blog, based on a prompt, cherry picking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 03:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19782004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nofeartina/pseuds/nofeartina
Summary: Prompt by colazitron on Tumblr:"It's a very vague prompt - but can I please have same Isak/Even involving cherries?"Or - another friends to lovers fic because why not. ;)(Originally posted on Tumblr but moved for archiving)





	What picking cherries will get you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [colazitron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/colazitron/gifts).



> The vagueness of this prompt made is so easy for me to fill, thank you babe! 😘 And also thank you for looking it over. xD
> 
> I hope you all enjoy yet another friends to lovers fic, can you really have too many of those...?

“We could be so good together,” Isak says, eyes already shutting, breath evening out, falling asleep even as he adds, “Don’t you think, Even?”

And Even is left there, feeling like he’s just been punched in the gut, feeling out of place and out of sorts. Because yes. So much yes. They could, they would. Even thinks they would be perfect together, actually. 

But Isak is already asleep, has turned to his side where Even dropped him off, too drunk to be able to get to the bed by himself. 

There’s no reason for Even to answer, there’s nobody there to hear him, nobody to attest to what Isak just asked him. The first time Isak has ever really acknowledged that there might be something else between them. Something other than friendship. But Even can’t help it. If this is the only time Isak will ever ask him, if he can’t remember tomorrow and has changed his mind, at least Even will have done what he can.

“Yes. We could be great together, Isak.”

The room stays silent after, even though Even feels like he just challenged the universe. Nothing but Isak’s light snores mocking him for speaking out loud.

Even stays for a bit, watches Isak sleep until he feels like a creep and then he leaves, cautiously optimistic. Maybe Isak will remember tomorrow, maybe they’ll finally have the talk that’ll get them together.

Maybe. 

By the time Isak asks him again, Even has stopped hoping.

–||–

“Do you have plans this weekend?” Isak asks.

Even squints at him, isn’t really sure why he’s the one Isak’s asking when the rest of their friends are there.

They’ve never really been the best of friends, have always skirted on opposite sides of the periphery of the same friend group, never really becoming close. Even knows why that is, knows why he’s kept Isak just out of reach. He’s pretty sure Isak isn’t doing it for the same reasons he is, though.

Isak is someone Even could fall in love with so easily. He knows that if he got to know him, spend more time with him, got to touch him, then that would be it for him.

Even doesn’t want to fall in love with someone who doesn’t love him back. Again. So he guards his heart and keeps his distance. Although Isak saying that years ago made him wonder and hope and pay much closer attention than he’d normally let himself, he’s learned to keep that part of himself down.

“My Sunday is free. Why?”

He knows he’s squinting in disbelief, but it really is out of sorts for Isak to ask him like this.

Isak seems to ignore it, pushes through like it’s normal for him to have Even on his own like this and he sits down next to him.

“I promised my grandmother that I would help her pick the berries in her garden. She’s too old to be climbing on ladders. I need someone tall to help me.”

He’s smiling, looks so at ease, and Even swallows hard.

He wants to say yes right away but doesn’t want to seem too eager, so he says, “What’s in it for me?”

Isak smiles again, nudges his shoulder as he says, “You mean spending time with me isn’t reward in itself?” 

Even doesn’t know what to say, manages to make some sort of small stiff smile but Isak luckily isn’t looking at him as he continues.

“My grandmother makes preserves out of them, I’ll make sure you get some.”

Spending a day with Isak? Alone? And getting preserves out of it in the end?

Yeah, no way that Even can say no to that.

No matter how the prospect makes his stomach flutter.

–||–

Even picks two cherries, puts one in the basket he’s holding and pops the other one in his mouth. Below him, hidden under the branches and leaves, impossible to see from where he’s standing on the ladder, he hears Isak laugh.

“I can hear you eating them up there.”

Even stealthily and silently spits the pit out into his hand and throws it over his shoulder towards the hedges, and says, “I’m doing no such thing.”

Isak laughs again, and Even’s stomach flutters and does all sorts of funny things that he just wants to ignore.

Being alone with Isak is even better than he’d imagined. They fall into this easy banter, conversation flowing naturally between them, and god, if he could spend eternity in this garden with Isak, he would be a happy camper.

The sun is beating down on him, is making his temples and armpits wet with sweat, is making the t-shirt stick to him uncomfortably. He needs a bit of shade, he decides, maybe something to drink. So he fights his way down through the branches and the leaves and the wonky steps of the ladder.

To find Isak topless, bending over to pick at the gooseberries at the bottom of the bush.

Even’s mouth dries up in nano-seconds and he tries to look away, tries to, but fails. So much skin. Isak’s shorts stretched tight over that delicious backside that Even has tried to not think about too much (and has failed every single time). 

So he stands there. Frozen to the spot, mind scrambling, fingers itching to reach out and touch. He’s sure Isak’s skin would be warm to the touch, smooth. He wants to kiss the freckles he has on his lower back, wants to run his fingers over the protrusions of his spine. 

Wants to push his body really close to his and see if they fit just as perfectly as Even imagines they would.

Even swallows hard. Then does it again, trying to get some moisture into his mouth, and he just barely manages to turn his eyes away from Isak before he gets up. 

“I’m so thirsty, how about you?” Isak asks and only then does Even look back at him again. He makes sure that his eyes are on Isak’s, tries to keep them from straying. He absolutely doesn’t notice the freckles on Isak’s shoulder either.

Isak steps up to him, takes a cherry out of his basket. He watches Even as he puts it in between his lips, sucking on it for a little bit before it disappears into his mouth.

Even can’t breathe. 

He shouldn’t look, shouldn’t indulge himself, but he just can’t help it.

He watches Isak’s lips stretch into a smirk that slowly turns into a smile the longer Even stands there watching him, without saying anything.

In the end, Isak turns, says, “Come on, let’s get some water.” Doesn’t wait to check if Even follows.

Which Even obviously does. Of course he does.

Water turns into food, which turns into a beer. 

Isak sits there, legs spread in a garden chair, looking so at home and domestic and at ease that Even could watch him there all day. 

“Thanks for helping,” Isak says.

“No problem. It’s a good excuse to get out of my apartment for a bit.”

Even takes a sip of his beer, contemplating asking Isak what he really wants to ask him, the words stumbling over his lips before he can stop himself.

“Were the others busy?”

“Hmm?” Isak asks, clearly pretending not to understand what Even is asking. He always was a bad liar.

“You never normally ask me. But you did. So… were the others busy?”

Isak blushes prettily and looks down at his bottle. Clears his throat and smiles a bit, and Even wants to reach over and touch that blush, wants to kiss it deeper.

“Ha, no. No, they…” Isak clears his throat again and says something under his breath that Even can’t hear but he really wants to.

“What?”

Isak looks at him, tilts his head a bit and really looks at Even.

And now it’s Even who’s blushing, not used to being under this kind of scrutiny from Isak. It’s like he’s missing something, he’s just not sure what.

The moment passes, because Isak slaps his thighs and gets up, picks up their used plates and starts carrying them into the kitchen.

Even really wants to know what he just missed so he follows.

“Isak?” he asks as soon as he reaches the kitchen, finds Isak with his back to him, leaning on the low counter, shoulders bunched around his ears. 

“They all wanted me to ask you, okay?”

“What?” Even asks as Isak turns, his eyes wide and face red.

“Surely you must know, Even.”

Even takes a step closer to Isak, heart beating a frantic rhythm in his chest, hope exploding in his stomach from what he thinks Isak is saying.

“Know what?” he whispers and takes another step closer. Like he can’t stand the distance between them anymore.

Isak is close enough that Even could reach out and touch him if he wanted. Which he does, but he wants to hear what Isak has to say even more. Isak is still leaning against the counter, hands on either side of him, knuckles white with how tight he’s holding on to it.

“I asked you once, but you never gave me an answer. Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“I did,” Even says, words tumbling out of his mouth with his eagerness to set this straight. “I did give you an answer. You fell asleep before you heard it.”

Isak’s eyes flit over his face, one side of his mouth stretching into something that could become a smile, his face opening up in surprised disbelief.

“So?”

Even takes a step further, watches Isak reach for him, curl his finger around the waistline of his pants and pull him closer.

They’re so close now. Even can smell the faint whiff of sweat off Isak, the sweetness of beer and cherries on his breath, see how his nose and cheeks are dotted with even more freckles that Even just wants to kiss. Along with the rest of him.

“Ask me again.”

Isak smiles, licks his lips. And then -

“Don’t you think we could be good together?”

Even doesn’t have to think about it, doesn’t worry about the consequences. There is only this moment, only this second that Even knows that he’ll remember forever. Them on the precipice of something new, something massive, something that he knows he’ll never regret, not even for a second.

He answers before the words are barely out of Isak’s mouth.

“Yes.” 

**Author's Note:**

> My inbox is still full of prompts and I promise there are more to come. I'm going on summer holiday for a little bit now, but I'll continue when I'm back (or if the mood strikes while I'm away). xD
> 
> I hope you guys liked this one! If you did, you know I get all blushy and smiley from your kudos and comments. Just saying. ;)
> 
> The original fic post can be found [here](https://nofeartina.tumblr.com/post/185999545399/its-a-very-vague-prompt-but-can-i-please-have), and I'm [nofeartina](https://nofeartina.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, come play!


End file.
